Skill Plagiarist... A skill that is mysterious itself... I never mentioned a skill like this in my novel.
A skill that can steal anyone's skill if we kill them. On the bright side, it helps us boost our number of skills, but...
On the dark side, it corrupts you with killing intent.
The ground below me was becoming hollow... I was getting swallowed by the ground.
Wake up. Do it. Give us your body. We'll make you stronger. Kill everyone. Steal skills. Kill your companions.
My back was filled with multiple souls continuously chanting these words. They were souls who had maybe died because of the Skill Plagiarist.
Just what in the world is Skill Plagiarist...?
I stopped. My whole body was stopped by the souls. A lot of souls..
A lot of souls had covered my vision. I was getting suffocated by them.
Just what in the world is Skill Plagiarist...?
It was the case in my inner mind...
In the endless dream, I was crying from the pain, covered by souls who were continuously chanting the same things.
"ARGHH!! FUCK!! I CAN'T STOP!!! IT HURTS!! I WANT TO FIGHT!! I DON'T WANT TO STOP!! I DON'T WANT TO KILL OTHERS!! I WANT TO LIVE PEACEFULLY!!!"
I sat down... The pain was increasing. Wake up. Do it. Give us your body.
Wake up. Do it. Give us your body. We'll make you stronger. Kill everyone. Steal skills. Kill your companions.
Is this the result of trying to change this endless dream...? Just how much is my inner mind going to suffer...?
In my inner mind, I was sitting, crying in misery when I saw a broken soul standing in front of me.
Han Seeyoung?
Wake up. Do it. Give us your body. We'll make you stronger. Kill everyone. Steal skills. Kill your companions.
Fuck. I realized now... These souls were the victims whose skills were stolen by Skill Plagiarist.
Han Seeyoung, sorry.
Fuck... you, Kang Hong. You stole my skills but still, you're weak. Fight, Kang Hong. You can't rest. You need to change this endless dream.
If I had to describe the looks of these souls... They looked broken... They didn't have eyes... Their mouths were open... They were just like any other ghost. But in a more creepy way.
Fuck. I lost it.
***
Some people were walking on the street. They had two girls tied up with them. The people were four in number.
"We got really good loot today."
"Yeah, if this dream won't end, then it means we can do what we want."
"After all, it's a dream... What we do here... Only stays here, so we won't do anything wrong if we slack off and rape some."
The beginning of this endless dream was the worst for females.
"Especially these girls... They are the best products... Our nights will be fulfilled completely."
"Yeahhh, I can't wait to enjoy the night!!" "This is the best!"
They noticed something.
***
"Hey! See over there!! There's someone sitting in the middle of the street!"
"What happened? Should we check?"
"I think so."
They got nearer.
More near.
"I'll check!"
He moved forward. Touched the person's shoulder.
"Hey! Are you okay?"
This wasn't the same world anymore... Where you could find normal people on the streets...
They should have realized it.
In a blink of an eye, that person was burnt to ashes.
"Huh?!"
"What?"
"How?!!"
They were surprised... or super scared.
[ FIRE ELEMENT LVL. 1 HAS BEEN ACTIVATED ]
It was none other than Kang Hong- aka me, the narrator of this story.
I am the author of an endless dream... A dreamer who isn't supposed to be affected by this dream was now corrupted.
In simple words, I was corrupted.
I failed in fighting against the souls in my inner mind. I'll regret it. I gave up control of my body and became a servant of Skill Plagiarist.
I need to wake up.
FWOOSH!
Flames started gathering around my fists... Becoming corrupt is the worst because... My right arm, which I lost after Quest 1, regenerated.
I'm basically immortal.
I understood something... That I can regenerate... by using the body parts of the victims of Skill Plagiarist. I used Han Seevoung's right arm to regenerate my right arm.
If I use Han Seeyoung's whole body... then his soul will be freed.
If I die... Can I retrieve my life by exchanging it with the whole body of a soul?
My inner mind was surrounded by these questions...
FWOOSH!
I gathered flames in my left fist. The scared people started running for their lives.
"Fuck!! Run!! He's fucking crazy!!"
"Run for your life!!"
"Leave the girls here!!"
They left the girls on the street... The girls were panicking... They wanted to run but were tied up.
I ran... As fast as possible.
Punched everyone... with a flaming fist, one by one. They fell to the ground.
"Ah!! Fuck!!"
"It hurts!!"
"Someone save me!"
I was the hunter, and they were the ones getting hunted by me.
I hunted them brutally.
SMAASH!
Smashed their heads on the walls... On the ground...
FWOOSH!!
Burnt their eyes.
SIZZLE...
Burnt their arms.
Burnt everything. It was brutal. I don't remember it anymore because it wasn't me who did this. It was the corruption that took over my body.
They were screaming the whole time. For some reason I don't remember it anymore.
I've already started forgetting this story.
I hunted real humans.
Anything can happen in this endless dream.
The impossible seems possible in this endless dream.
This is the tale of an endless dream that became my reality.
I name this dream... I forgot.
[ TOTAL SOULS COLLECTED - 11/100 ]
I was standing still, looking at the sky.
The sky was becoming darker and darker.
It started raining.
The girls behind me were crying out of fear.
But their voices couldn't be heard because their mouths were sealed.
I was conscious. I could feel my hand. I could feel my actions. But there was a problem...
I couldn't speak, nor could I hear anything.
I was continuously hearing the screams of the souls.
AAAAAHHHH!!!
I couldn't understand what they were screaming about. Their language was different... Probably demonic.
I stepped forward and untied both of the girls.
When I reached for the tape sealing their mouths... a lot of tears dropped onto my hands. My vision was dull, but I understood one thing...
They were crying.
They were crying too much.
I gently smiled and wiped their tears with both hands...
Then, I touched their cheeks with both of my hands.
"You did great."
I stood up.
"Go straight down this street, and you'll find a destroyed building. Go inside, and you'll meet a young lady with red hair and a small child. Tell them I was the one who sent you."
They nodded and started walking.
It's not working... I can't hear anything... I don't even know if I said that correctly...
What's worse is that my vision is getting worse.
I looked ahead.
Time to hunt more... I can't do anything... My body moves according to the voices I hear.
They told me to kill them in ten seconds, so I killed them in ten seconds.
Just what is wrong with me...?
If a person with a skill shows up, even I don't know what I'll do.
One thing is for sure...
I'm corrupted or possessed hgnow.
This Skill Plagiarist is a pain in the ass.
I started running.
Maybe this is a test... A test to see if I'm qualified to possess Skill Plagiarist.
From all the screams, I understood one thing—
The souls of the people I kill will stick with me, forcing me to kill more.
The souls of those who were killed earlier by this skill also remain with the new vessel.
If I want to make it out of this... I need to qualify myself to possess Skill Plagiarist.
It's gonna be tough.
I don't want to kill more.
***
Someone was running toward a group of people in an abandoned building.
One of them threw a sword at her.
WHOOSH!!
She dodged it.
Her movement was steady.
She stopped at a distance... A distance that wasn't even in her attack range.
But... she slid forward and—
SHLAAASH!!
Five... six people were sliced in half.
The remaining ones staggered backward.
"F-Fuck! Run! She's dangerous!"
"Retreat!!"
She disappeared from their sight.
"Huh? Where did she—?"
A blade went through his heart from behind.
She pulled out her sword and kept going.
SLASH!
SLASH!
SPLATTER!
More...
More...
More...
A total nightmare.
By the time she stopped, 20-25 corpses lay on the ground.
On top of them, she stood—her clothes drenched in blood.
She swung her sword, flinging off the excess blood.
SWOOSH!
"Anna, are you done?"
She looked back.
"Yes."
Her face wasn't visible in the darkness.
***
Kill.
Kill them.
Steal skills.
Use their skills.
Kill.
Kill everyone in your range.
Become the strongest.
KANG HONG.
The voices were becoming clearer...
My body was about to start moving according to their will again.
My watch reached 12:00.
I couldn't see it, but I heard the beep.
That meant one thing—
Quest 2 could begin at any moment now.
I had to stay careful.
The rain had stopped.
I approached a group of people sitting around a campfire.
They were drinking.
The screams grew louder.
AAAAHHHH!! KILL! MORE! MORE!!!
I was acting according to their will again.
"Kim! You should lend me some money... I'm out of cash. I need to buy beer!!"
They were drunk.
"Shut up!! I lent you 5,000 won this morning. You won't get a single won more unless... you let me have your wife for the night!!"
"Kim... Fuck you!! I'm not giving you anything!!"
He stood up and started clapping.
"LISTEN UP!! I'LL SING FOR THE NIGHT TO CELEBRATE MY UPCOMING STAY WITH THIS BRAT'S WIFE!!"
Many hands were raised in support.
"Yayy!! That's our boy!!"
"Sing!! Sing!!"
I started running around the camp, marking the weakest points.
I was doing everything as the souls commanded.
I had to increase my mental barrier to stop these souls from interfering with my body.
I bent slightly while running... letting my hands brush against the ground.
[ FIRE ELEMENT LVL. 1 HAS BEEN ACTIVATED ]
My left hand touched the ground, and I started releasing fire.
FWOOSH..!
I was creating a ring of fire around the entire camp... trapping them inside.
They were too drunk to notice.
I didn't plan any of this... My body was just moving on its own.
The fire slowly spread.
I was already inside the circle.
So, I began my work.
They were busy singing, completely oblivious.
I burned them—one by one.
CRACKLE... FWOOSH..!
Someone finally noticed me.
"Hey! Someone's joined us!"
Drinking really ruins your thinking.
They rushed toward me.
"Take this!! Let's enjoy together!"
They handed me a beer.
...
Umm... I ended up sitting with them.
They were singing, drinking, and eating.
They didn't notice the smell of fire.
"Hey!! What's your name?"
",Kang Hong."
"You aren't drinking at all... drink some!!"
"Sorry... but I don't drink."
"I see! Then eat this! We've got plenty!"
They handed me a plate with steak and rice.
The fire kept growing.
One person burned every minute.
"Hey!! I smell fire. Go check it!!"
He finally noticed.
"Kim! Hey, anyone!"
Too late.
"Sorry! Seems like they forgot to turn the smoker off."
"Hello?"
"Why aren't you saying anything?"
He was surrounded by flames. Alone.
I walked behind him.
"Sorry. I went to check the smoker."
"So what was the problem? I can still smell fire."
"The problem is.."
"Hello? What are yo—"
He stepped onto the burning wood.
FWOOSH!!
"The problem is there wasn't a smoker here."